James Nostack

I had to file the same motion THREE TIMES in Queens Supreme, because the clerks kept giving me incorrect advice, or, more likely, were fucking with me.

This is genuinely very very good

Since we didn't have any goals -- other than to do exactly what we did -- the don't-call-it-a-war actually HAS been hugely successful. But most people don't have "take a dump on the floor" on their to-do list, let alone the only item

That one, and the one where everyone in a village learns the meaning of life and it drives them insane

I was told not to clarify a legal document because it's to our advantage for the terms to remain ambiguous.

To stop this senseless war ye see, ye must answer these riddles three

"Theory of Mind" is inherently threatening as it implies the existence of other viewpoints--which is to say, the possibility you might be wrong. Which is a big problem if your only argument is the argument from authority.

I absolutely understand the principle "don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good"

But letting the Nazi tattoo & white supremacy-adjacency be the enemy of the good .... that's how I know what good is!

Maybe he means, "We're going to loot the place of all its priceless cultural treasures and run away to a subtropical island."

why do you expect an empire to behave rationally? why do you expect institutions to be any more rational than people? like every empire the american empire is racist; like every racist it imagines a hierarchy of races & would rather collapse with its favored races than exist with the ones it hates

My only issue with this is that it's not just the Roberts court

I watched Midnight Cowboy when I first moved to New York to Make It Big and my girlfriend's dad was dying of (basically) poverty and racism. Really struck a nerve.

Oh yeah! There was a stretch of these in the late-60's to mid-70's, including Rocky, Dog Day Afternoon--that are essentially about having big dreams just means you're gonna get eaten alive--all part of the very downbeat, disillusioned vibe of that time. Midnight C just does it better than others

And I like Midnight Cowboy and I enjoyed Wonder Man, but I don't see much thematic connection, other than some very loose analogy between Ratso and Trevor. Simon struggles but *he wins the jackpot* - and basically doesn't appear to pay much of a cost

One of the revolutionary things about midnight cowboy as a film is that it's one of the most popular films to treat the utter failure and collapse of the American dream, particularly for young men. Failure is an absolutely taboo topic in American popular culture....

Unless you have almost no other options, taking a job where there is a good chance you will be killed for no reason, or have to kill *others* for no reason, where your only recourse is imprisonment, is one hell of a bad job.

Some have no options, but we should de-glamorize this for those who do

Iran has been "weeks away" from a nuclear bomb for the last 50 years. This is technically true. We are weeks away from the Sun swallowing the Earth, which at this point in American history cannot possibly happen soon enough

Just not enough conflict on God's internet for you today?

Sure would be nice if someone could attempt explain why a bunch of innocent kids have to die. Or American service members.

Iran has allegedly been 5 minutes from getting a nuclear weapon for th last 30 years or longer. Kinda think if that's what they wanted they'd have them by now.

Inventing an app that makes people addicted to reading on their phones, when apparently 1 person in 20 has basic reading comprehension, was probably a mistake

It's just... if I am gonna be cruel to a stranger, then I am cruel enough to want to see the effects. Being cruel to 1 human in 10,000 isn't even satisfying as an act of cruelty

The population of Kansas is about 3 million people. This affects literally 1 person in 10,000. The affect on trans people is immense, but what the hell is supposed to be the public benefit? Unless harm for its own sake is the upside?

That said, this is a real good environment for challenging do-nothing incumbents.

I hope I am wrong about this, but the strategy won't change until the strategists change.

Like @gwensnyder.bsky.social says, the Party is a fundraising operation, and until they're raising far more money with "abolish ICE" than "means-testing," the big truck ain't changing lanes

I agree with you wholeheartedly. But also, for ~15 years, the purest outlet with a 100% national reach happened to be in that medium, and it had contingent effects on the Right's political project today

Then I think we're reading OP differently: "that drive-time talk radio was the most valuable propaganda platform in history and a big reason we got into this mess we're in now"

I read that as talking about historical contingency, not the power of radio specifically...

Obviously this administration has roots in the past, but that doesn't make it identical to the past.

Either propaganda has some effect, or Rupert / the Koch Bros. / etc have set about a trillion dollars on fire for no reason.

But who "the most racist candidate on the ballot is" has changed over time, particularly on the national level. Trump is the product of a movement, but it's an openly, proudly genocidal movement that completely rejects the rule of law. That wasn't an open position until relatively recently.

If it's like America, the consultants will say, "Sure, you lost after taking our advice. But what you needed to do is take EVEN MORE of our advice."

The strategy will stay the same until the strategists are no longer getting paid

Dude is such a starfucker